- Apr 19, 2001
- 2,302
- 3,047
- Disclosures
- Beta tester Source Audio, demos/reviews of many others
I’ve read a lot about the Hulk but never took the plunge. I happened to come across a sale this past week and got a killer deal on one. Meanwhile I’ve been using the Meatbox ever since it was rereleased.
It inspired me to do a VS video comparing the two since they are almost always both in the same sentence as the other.
Watch the video to compare for yourself, obviously use proper speakers or headphones with low drivers.
My takeaway, they essentially are the same concept, and sound very similar because they accomplish the same thing. The Meatbox is definitely more aggressive sounding with the ‘fizzy’ buzz being more prominent. The Hulk sounds a lot more smoother, less fizz but the low end just as massive. It seems the input gain these pedals are driving the rest of the circuits with are different. It seems like the Meatbox pushes it much higher and that’s what gives it the more aggressive tone. The drawback is that the notes themselves tend to have an abrupt ‘clipping’ feel to the very start of the triggering. This becomes very exaggerated in a large room with subs. The Hulk doesn’t crank the input as high so it definitely sounds more natural as far as playing ‘feel’ is concerned.
Out of the two it’s really hard to pick a winner. Meatbox will always have nostalgia for me since it’s the first pedal I played that was in this area, but I think overall the Hulk wins. The Hulk is still in production, so it’s much cheaper and easier to actually get one. The footseitch itself is difficult to press on the Meatbox. The Hulk still has separate output jacks if you want to separate the sub bass, the Meatbox has a TRS output, but requires a Y cable to use. Sound wise the Hulk wins mainly because it has a more natural and musical feel to it, the Meatbox really can sound choppy which is one of the things that’s bothered me about it over the years.
It inspired me to do a VS video comparing the two since they are almost always both in the same sentence as the other.
Watch the video to compare for yourself, obviously use proper speakers or headphones with low drivers.
My takeaway, they essentially are the same concept, and sound very similar because they accomplish the same thing. The Meatbox is definitely more aggressive sounding with the ‘fizzy’ buzz being more prominent. The Hulk sounds a lot more smoother, less fizz but the low end just as massive. It seems the input gain these pedals are driving the rest of the circuits with are different. It seems like the Meatbox pushes it much higher and that’s what gives it the more aggressive tone. The drawback is that the notes themselves tend to have an abrupt ‘clipping’ feel to the very start of the triggering. This becomes very exaggerated in a large room with subs. The Hulk doesn’t crank the input as high so it definitely sounds more natural as far as playing ‘feel’ is concerned.
Out of the two it’s really hard to pick a winner. Meatbox will always have nostalgia for me since it’s the first pedal I played that was in this area, but I think overall the Hulk wins. The Hulk is still in production, so it’s much cheaper and easier to actually get one. The footseitch itself is difficult to press on the Meatbox. The Hulk still has separate output jacks if you want to separate the sub bass, the Meatbox has a TRS output, but requires a Y cable to use. Sound wise the Hulk wins mainly because it has a more natural and musical feel to it, the Meatbox really can sound choppy which is one of the things that’s bothered me about it over the years.
